Pakistan

All Parties Conference (APC) was held yesterday in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Mr. Yousaf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister of Pakistan. It has indeed been a rare and miraculous phenomenon that all political forces of Pakistan have unanimously endorsed the current Swat operation. It is highly commendable. Given this sort of political will and resolve seen in APC, optimism about our ability to deal with the menace of Taliban and terrorism stand strengthened. The APC has initiated a lightening ray of hope under the prevalent dismal situation.

The following is the text of the resolution:

1. Recalled, the consensus resolution passed by a joint sitting of parliament on October 22, 2008;

2. Reiterated, its support of the resolution passed on October 2, 2008, and the subsequent recommendations made by the parliamentary committee on national security as required by the resolution and impressed upon the need for speedy implementation;

3. Reaffirmed, its commitment to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and sovereignty of the state of Pakistan;

4. Emphasised, the need to establish and maintain the writ of the state and ensure supremacy of the rule of law;

5. Condemned, all violent challenges to the Constitution and the state of Pakistan;

6. Expressed, grief for the martyrdom of security personnel and innocent civilians;

7. Maintaining, that the safety and security of civilians is paramount and it should be ensured that minimum harm is caused to the non-combatant civilian population;

8. Re-emphasised, the need to ensure the safety, well being and rehabilitation in their respective areas of the internally displaced persons;

9. Called upon, the Pakistani people to respond as one nation to mitigate the suffering of our brothers and sisters, the Internally Displaced Persons;

10. Emphasised, that Pakistan is a vibrant dynamic democracy;

11 Reaffirmed, that Pakistan’s nuclear assets were under an effective command and control authority;

12 Asserted, that the strategic decisions regarding military issues, including troops’ deployment, are the sole prerogative of the state of Pakistan;

13. Appreciated, the tremendous sacrifices given by the Pakistani people economically, politically and in terms of human life while fighting terrorism, more than any other country or people;

14. Condemned, the violation of Pakistan’s optical economic and territorial sovereignty, including drone attacks; and

15. Conveyed, that Pakistan is a sovereign state and any aid, economic or military which carries cardinalities will be counter-productive.

Government has called All Parties Conference (APC) regarding the prevailing situation of terrorism, particularly, the current army operation in Swat region. The conference is due to be held on Monday, May 18, 2009. This conference is going to follow the in camera briefing by COAS to representatives of all political parties in the Parliament held on May 15, 2009. The APC is going to also include those political parties which did not take part in the last general elections. Army operation has been in progress since the beginning of this month and is at the stage of search and destroy. Army has been able to capture the important heights surrounding the towns and control the entrance/exit routes. Taliban surrounded by the army are being killed and some of them have started surrendering. Now, that the army operation is nearing its success, some of these parties have started echoing the resolution of the problem through negotiations implying that the army operation should be stopped. Short of achieving success, army operations against Taliban have been halted in the past through peace agreements, a number of times. It has been a failed practice in the past as every time Taliban used these agreements to gain time to reorganize. This time government and army appear determined to complete the operation and eliminate Taliban from Swat region. The difference of opinion between the parties opposing the operation and the government is pretty wide and not likely to be bridged by the APC. It is, therefore, not understood as to what is going to be the outcome of the APC. It will be better if all parties focus their attention on helping the IDPS and chalking out future course of action to deal with Taliban elsewhere in the country.